Its fun but...
Story: Story is nothing ground breaking so ill talk about what matters. Lara Croft in many ways represents pretty much every one of us: inexperienced, naive and curious. This is what makes us care for her struggles throughout the game since we see a female character start off weak and evolve into a stronger person. This is a great theme that is executed fairly well.
Gameplay: The game has elements of action and exploration with the addition to upgrading your gear. Although exploration is limited puzzles are smart and rarely frustrating.
-You feel a great sense accomplishment when you traverse through tombs and solves puzzles(without survival instinct) these segments are Tomb Raiders strong points.
-The problem arises when the game introduces elements that are inconsistent with the gameplay. A section where stealth is introduced gives the player the illusion that they have the option to sneak and ambush but will soon realize it's scripted (the game tells you when you can use stealth) and will be frustrated when getting caught just because the game says so.
-Combat is fun but is brainless at times. Enemies always know your current position, have hawk eye aim, and will recklessly charge only to meet the end of your climbing axe. Melee kills are spammable and easy. This triggers a short scene that prevents guards from attacking as you do a finishing blow. If you are surrounded by enemies you can spam triangle until everyone near you is dead. Also because enemies have hawkeye makes certain deaths feel cheap rather than the fault of your own actions. Constantly shooting enemies into limbs only stagger them and do nothing to their state.(i just shot that guy 4 times in the knee how is he still running) this may seem like a small gripe but for a game that is about upgrading you gear, stealth and survival feels very limited(makes me feel bad for even upgrading my gear when the enemy AI is one dimensional)
-At times the game tells you what you need to do with button prompts and notes constantly on the side screen when you would rather want to try and figure it out yourself. (its annoying when the game is playing for you)
-Lastly the game's theme and story implies the idea of survival but is non existent in the gameplay. EX: When Lara needed fire to survive the rain storm would only be shown through a cutscene rather than implemented in gameplay, injuries she sustains are also shown through cutscenes instead of healing system. The same goes for food(imagine having to manage your broken bones, bulletwounds, temperature, and hunger by scavenging supplies to attend to those needs scavenging would be a stronger purpose)
I enjoyed Tomb Raider and the new Lara Croft is great but this is an average action game that is worth checking out not for the full price.